Michael John Avenatti is an American attorney, best known for his representation of adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Donald Trump, and for his felony extortion conviction involving sports apparel company Nike. His firm has represented various celebrity defendants and has filed suits against Fortune 500 companies. He has appeared extensively on broadcast ...
He has also driven in automobile races in the United States and Europe. Avenatti represented Stormy Daniels in her lawsuits against President Trump, including an attempt to void a non-disclosure agreement she had signed and a related defamation suit.
In March 2018, Avenatti filed a lawsuit on behalf of adult film actress Stormy Daniels seeking to invalidate a 2016 non-disclosure agreement regarding an alleged affair with Donald Trump in 2006, claiming that Daniels had been paid off by Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen not to disclose information covered by the NDA. The non-disclosure agreement had been negotiated in the final days of the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign. Avenatti also represented Daniels in a related defamation suit against Trump. In October 2018, a federal judge dismissed the defamation lawsuit and ordered Daniels to pay Trump's legal fees. Avenatti said he would appeal that decision; Daniels later said that Avenatti had initiated the suit against her wishes.
Eagan Avenatti had been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and, in December 2017, had agreed to pay $4.8 million in unpaid fees to a former partner, $2 million in back taxes, and $1 million to other creditors.
Avenatti later joined Greene Broillet & Wheeler, a Los Angeles boutique law firm . While there, he handled a number of high-profile cases, including a $10 million defamation case against Paris Hilton which was resolved amicably by the parties before going to trial, settled an idea-theft lawsuit relating to the show The Apprentice ...
He potentially faces more than 40 years in prison.
In 2018, Avenatti's law firm was subjected to a $10 million judgment in U.S. bankruptcy court. Avenatti has also defaulted on a $440,000 judgment in back taxes, penalties, and interest that he was personally obligated to pay under another bankruptcy settlement.
In 2003, his alma mater established the Michael J. Avenatti Award for Excellence in Pre-Trial and Trial Advocacy, after Avenatti made five figure donations to the school. The annual award is given to the member of the graduating Juris Doctor class who demonstrates excellence in pre-trial and trial advocacy.
Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic actress, film director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
She chose her stage name Stormy Daniels to reflect her love of American rock band MĂśtley CrĂźe, whose bassist, Nikki Sixx, named his daughter Storm. She chose the last name "Daniels" after seeing a Jack Daniel's advertisement that read "a Southern favorite".
She chose her stage name Stormy Daniels to reflect her love of American rock band MĂśtley CrĂźe, whose bassist, Nikki Sixx, named his daughter Storm. She chose the last name "Daniels" after seeing a Jack Daniel's advertisement that read "a Southern favorite".
On April 9, 2018, FBI agents raided Cohen's office and seized emails, tax documents and business records relating to several matters, including payments to Daniels. On April 30, 2018, Daniels filed a lawsuit against Trump on libel charges because he called her statements "fraud".
In 2018, Daniels became involved in a legal dispute with U.S. president Donald Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen. Trump and his surrogates paid $130,000 hush money to silence Daniels about an affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump's spokespeople have denied the affair and accused Daniels of lying.
A day later, Cohen initiated an ex parte arbitration process which resulted in an order that barred Daniels from disclosing "confidential information" related to the non-disclosure agreement. The order itself, which Daniels' lawyers called bogus, was supposed to remain confidential.
On behalf of his client, Cohen denied the existence of an affair between Trump and Daniels, but he later stated: "In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms. Stephanie Clifford."
image copyright. Reuters. image caption. Michael Avenatti could face more than 40 years in prison. Michael Avenatti, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels in a lawsuit against President Trump, has been found guilty of attempted extortion. The lawyer was accused of seeking to extort up to $25m (ÂŁ18.9m) from Nike.
Court papers said Avenatti threatened to hold a press conference alleging Nike had made illicit payments to young basketball players in Los Angeles. Revealing this would wipe billions from Nike's stock value, he had suggested. Nike immediately reported the matter to federal prosecutors. Avenatti was arrested shortly after announcing he would hold ...
image caption. Avenatti previously represented porn star Stormy Daniels. Avenatti formerly represented Stormy Daniels, who tried to sue the president to get out of a non-disclosure agreement she had signed before the 2016 presidential election.
He was found guilty by a jury after a three-week trial and could face up to 42 years in prison when sentenced in June.
Celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti walks out of a New York court house after a hearing in a case where he is accused of stealing $300,000 from a former client, adult-film actress Stormy Daniels on July 23, 2019 in New York City. âYou guys know enough now to know youâve got a serious problem,â he said.
Daniels was paid $130,000 by Trumpâs then-personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her claims of having had sex with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied Danielsâ allegations but reimbursed Cohen for the hush money.
âHeâs housed like a caged animal,â she said. In his next scheduled trial, also in Manhattan federal court, Avenatti is charged with swindling Daniels out of $300,000 in proceeds for a book she wrote. The book âFull Disclosureâ by Stormy Daniels is seen ...
Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti was convicted of all three charges related to his efforts to extort up to $25 million from athletic apparel giant Nike. The verdict in Manhattan federal court came two years after Avenatti gained widespread notoriety for his representation of porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal disputes with President Donald ...
Avenattiâs lawyer Howard Srebnick argued to jurors that Avenatti was behaving to Nikeâs lawyer âexactlyâ how âthe clients wanted.â. âHe acted in good faith,â Srebnick said in his closing argument. âIn the words of Nike itself, he went in there to âJust Do It,â for his client.â.
Avenatti had claimed to represent amateur basketball coach Gary Franklin, who testified at trial that he was unaware of the lawyerâs tactics.
Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office prosecuted Avenatti, said in a prepared statement, âWhile the defendant may have tried to hide behind legal terms and a suit and tie, the jury clearly saw the defendantâs scheme for what it was â an old fashioned shakedown.â.
In February, Avenatti was found by a federal jury in New York to have attempted to extort as much as $25 million from Nike over threats that he would expose misdeeds in its grassroots basketball division.
Avenatti won his release when attorneys argued a recent bout with pneumonia left him vulnerable to the coronavirus. The judge required Avenatti to post a $1 million bond, wear an electronic monitoring device and shelter in place at a friendâs house in Venice.
He will be in quarantine for 14 days before moving to Los Angeles.
While in college and later in law school, Avenatti worked at The Research Group, a political opposition research and media firm run by Rahm Emanuel (later White House Chief of Staff for President Barack Obama, and Mayor of Chicago). Avenatti worked on over 150 Democratic and Republican campaigns in 42 states while studying at George Washington University.
Avenatti was born on February 16, 1971 in Sacramento, California, and spent his early childhood in Colorado and Utah. His father was a manager for Anheuser-Busch. He moved with his family to Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, in 1982, where he attended Parkway Central High School.
After graduating in 1989, Avenatti attended Saint Louis Universityfor one year before transferrinâŚ
In November 2018, Avenatti was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) later confirmed Avenatti was arrested for felony domestic violence and his bail was set at $50,000. An LAPD spokesperson said that the unidentified victim, later described as his girlfriend, had "visible injuries" and that the case would be referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorneyfor prosecution. Minutes after the reports of Avenatti's arrest, thâŚ
⢠Michael Avenatti â List of Political Beliefs (August 27, 2018)
⢠Michael Avenatti driver statistics at Racing-Reference
In October 2016, shortly before the presidential election, Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in hush moneyto deny that she had an affair with Trump a decade earlier in 2006. Trump's spokespeople have denied the affair and accused Daniels of lying. On behalf of his client, Cohen denied the existence of an affair between Trump and Daniels, but he later stated: "In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a paymeâŚ
Daniels' parents, Sheila and Bill Gregory, divorced about three or four years after she was born. She was then raised by her mother.
She graduated from Scotlandville Magnet High School in Baton Rouge in 1997 and considered becoming a journalist.
Daniels said she "came from an average, lower-income household⌠there [were] days without elâŚ
Daniels's first experience as a stripper occurred when she was 17 and visiting a friend at a strip club; she was convinced to perform a "guest set". She began stripping for money at the Gold Club in Baton Rouge and became a featured entertainer with Continental Theatrical Agency in September 2000. She chose her stage name Stormy Daniels to reflect her love of American rock band MĂśtley CrĂźe, whose bassist, Nikki Sixx, named his daughter Storm.
Daniels appeared in an episode of Real Sex where she is seen participating in 2001 Miss Nude Great Plains Contest. She appeared in Pornucopia in 2004. In early 2007, she appeared in Dirt on the FX Network, where she played a stripper who helps to set up a basketball player played by Rick Fox. Later in 2007, Daniels appeared in Maroon 5's music video for their song "Wake Up Call" as a pole dancer. She appears in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), when the main character (SteâŚ
A group of fans attempted to recruit Daniels to run against Republican senator David Vitter in Louisiana in 2010. The recruitment process was centered around the website DraftStormy.com. On May 21, 2009, she formed an exploratory committee, initially inspired by revelations about "Vitter's connections to a prostitution ring". In August 2009, her campaign manager's car was blown up, although no one was in the car at that time.
Daniels lives in Forney, Texas.
Daniels was married to Pat Myne from 2003 to 2005, and took his legal surname Clifford. She was married to Michael Mosny (screen name Mike Moz) from 2007 to 2009. She was arrested in July 2009 pertaining to a domestic violence charge by Mosny. She married Glendon Crain in 2010; they have a daughter. Crain filed for divorce in July 2018.
⢠List of porn stars who appeared in mainstream films